A New Direction
by Conquering Angels
Summary: What happened when Tess and Nick's daughter gets kidnapped?They have to work together to get her back but the only problem is that they havent seen each other in 16 years.
1. making plans

**A new direction part 1 **

**Tess watched her 3 week old daughter sleep peacefully in the hospital crib. She looked at the name above her daughter. She loved the name it fitted so well, Michele Louise Ryan. Michele because since for ever she had always wanted a daughter called Michele Louise after her late sister, Claire she only thought it was fair to name her first born after her sister as Claire had name her first , well only born child after, tess. Her thought were interrupted by a knock coming at her door. **

**"Come in" she called**

**She was surprised to see peter walk in but then her little 4 year old niece charlotte came bounding through the door. **

**"Hi" peter said **

**"hi, this is a surprise" she said**

**" well ever since stevie called my place to let us know that you would have to postpone charlotte's visit, as you were having the baby she hasn't stopped talking about her little baby cousin. So I wanted to take her he to see you and to see her cousin.....**

_FLASHBACK_

_'Ring ring'_

_"Hello, peter specking"_

_"hi peter this is stevie"_

_"Stevie?"_

_"From droves run, Tess's manger"_

_"right stevie, what can I do for you"_

_"Well I was ringing to let you know that we can't have charlotte this weekend...."_

_" WHAT, you can just ring up hear and tell me that you can't take charlotte for two days, why hum why maybe because it doesn't fit in with tess's married life any more or maybe because she is too much of a pain to have around or maybe..."_

_" STOP, now if you had let me finish, what I was going to say was that we cant have charlotte this weekend because tess had gone into labor, and 4 year olds an't mush fun around hospitals, so we thought it would be easer if she just stayed put until tess can have her over again"_

_END OF FLAHBACK_

**"Michele, Michele Louise Ryan" **

**"Lovely name tess, why did you pick it"**

**"Well ever since I was a little girl I have always wanted a little girl called Michele and Louise after Claire" **

**"Really, I did not know that Claire middle name was Louise"**

**"yeah, and I thought it was fitting after Claire name her daughter after me"**

**"Really, your middle name is charlotte" **

**Just then their was a knock as the door and a nurse came in**

**"I'm sorry Miss McLeod, I have you husband on the phone" **

**" right, well thank you peter for stopping by and tell charlotte that she will get to meet her cousin really soon, referring to charlotte who had fallen asleep that I will see her in maybe 20 minute after I take this call**

**"sure we will be in the cafeteria, come on charlotte" who had woken up **

**Tess on the phone to nick**

**"Hello"**

**"Hi baby, how are you"**

**"Fine considering that I have been hears for 3 weeks already"**

**"yes but you know that since Michele was nearly a month and a half early, the doctors wanted to keep you hear for a few weeks"**

**"I know, but when can we go home" **

**"well that's why im ringing, you can go home any day now" **

**"Really" **

**"Really,"**

**"Can you come get me now?"**

**"Sorry honey, but I will come and get you tomorrow"**

**"Ok I love you" **

**"And I love you, bye"**

**And with that he hung up and peter walked through the door, charlotte meet Michele and loved her instantly, by when peter was about to leave, Tess asked him**

**"Peter, by any chance are you going into gungallan, tonight"**

**"yeah, im meeting Jules and the kids were going to have diner, at the pub, she been in the city visiting her family, and I was just about to go and meet them why?"**

**"I was wondering if I could get a lift into gungallan, to get my car"**

**"Sure, let's got"**

**"Thanks"**

**with that tess got checked out and herself and Michele were with peter going into gungallan, and tess new that her life was going in a new direction as she was making plans to leave, nick, and to leave drovers run**


	2. sweet 16

_**16 years later **_

Tess Grant formerly Tess McLeod and Tess Ryan woke up next to her husband of 9 years Liam Grant. Tess got out of bed today was a very special day. Today was her daughter's sweet 16th birthday. And among her material gifts she would also give her daughter the news that in a few months Michele wouldn't be an only child any more.

She often wondered that it could be quite possible that her father had married the women that he had been cheating on her mother with and have children with her but she didn't care.

Tess went into her daughter room she was like an angle sleeping. She couldn't believe that today was her 16th birthday. She couldn't help but remember all the things that nick had missed

Her first word

Learning to walk

But the thing that was hard most on Tess was when Michele was 2 years old she had called Liam dad. So ever since then she had called Liam dad, and Tess referred to him as dad as well.

tess and Liam had met when tess was looking into buying a cafe her dream, Michele was only 2 at the time, but they soon found themselves in a partnership, with al off tess's skills from already having owned part of a cafe and Liam's wealthy backing this couldn't fail and it didn't she now owned her own restraints as well as cafe.

but her favorite memory was when Michele was 7 years old Liam had proposed to her by planting the ring on the top of a rich chocolate cake with a layer of thick warm fudge, topping toped off with a served of whipped cream on top he had just asked her to marry him she was so absorbed up in all the stuff that know one saw Michele take a spoon full of the cream along with the ring, and when she started to choke Liam and tess turned around to see Michele swallow the ring and return to normal.

They didn't know what she had taken until Liam went for the ring and saw that it was not their. So the took Michele straight down to the local ER, where they spent 6 hours their. Michele had to be taken into the operating theater, to retrieve the ring. So now Michele has a small scare on her tummy.

She was brought out of her dream by Michele stirring

"Morning mum"

"Morning sweetheart, happy 16th birthday"

"Thanks mum"

At that moment Liam walked into the room

"Morning dad"

"Morning baby, happy birthday"

The started to open presents, Michele got, a phone, cloths, and cds, make up, money and was told that she would be having a baby brother or sister. She couldn't weight, this was the best birthday ever, or so see thought


	3. Help from the past

Part 3

After Michele opened her gifts she and her family had breakfast and then all headed off to work and school.

later that day when tess, and Liam got home form the cafe, the didn't expect to see Michele as she was most likely at the mall with her friends getting her presents from the, its been a tradition for Michele to go to the mall and get a gift from her friends.

But as the afternoon turned into evening Tess started to get worried. And when she heard a noise outside she went to investigate. But all she found was a tape and a note.

**_Tess,_**

**_if you want to ever see your daughter ever again you must sell both the cafe and restraint, other people are starting to loose money from you and then maybe you will get your daughter back, if you exactly what I say. I will contact you in 24 hours and if you get the cops involved you will _**

**_Not see your daughter alive again_**

Tess went back inside and found her old phone book if she couldn't get the cops involved then maybe Michele's father could help.

MEEMWHILE AT WIGAL

'So sally want's cousity of Catharine' Alex asked nick

" yep, I willing gave her the divorce but you cant do joint costiedy to a father who live nearly 5 hours away, but I mean it's stupid she is 15 for crying out loud she can make up her own mind"

'Ring ring'

"Hello Wigal nick Ryan specking"

"nick, its Tess I really need your help"

"Really, you need my help, why"

"Because Michele, your daughter had been kidnapped"

"WHAT"

"yeah its her 16th birthday today, after school, she went to the mall with her friends, it was getting late when I herd a sound coming from outside, I thought it was shell but it wasn't it was a tape of her being held at gun point a note saying sell both my business other wise I wouldn't get her back alive, nick, im scared please I no that you don't owe me anything but please I really need your help"

"Anything to get her back, what's the address"

"Got that"

"yeah I will see you tomorrow and don't do anything until I get their"

"Sure bye"

"Bye"

"were are you going nick" Alex asked confused about the one sided phone call he got

"Melerboure"

"I see the ex calls and you go running"

"Which ex would that be Alex?"

"What"

"it was Tess, Michele has been kidnapped and I am going to and help find my daughter I will see you when I see you Alex"

With that he ran out the door through a bag into the passenger's seat and took off in the direction of melerbourne.


	4. Memories

tess didn't sleep at all that night the fact that the cops hadn't been called in regards to her daughter's kidnapping really made her scared along with the fact that she hasn't seen or spoken to her ex- husband in sixteen years. Would the fact that he made her heart jump or make her go week in the knees, matter or would this be only him a matter of getting his daughter back hardly specking to her or, would he make Tess feel like it would be alright. All she new was that she couldn't sleep.

So she got up leaving Liam to sleep and made her way in to the guest bedroom and she pulled out a big box from under the bed. It was full off photos. There was her wedding album to nick, and her live from when she was Tess McLeod or Tess Ryan she didn't know, but one that Tess was sure about was that she was going back to drover run. She got out her wedding album and sat there looking through the pages, by the time she got up to the page Liam had woken up and found her in the bedroom.

"Hey, I woke up and you went there"

"I know, I was just looking through some old stuff"

"Old wedding album Tess?"

"Yeah, sorry"

"Don't ever be sorry Tess, this was your first marriage you have a daughter with him, and from what I'm guessing he was the love of your life, and sometimes I think he still is"

"you might be right he still could be the love of my life, but don't get me wrong Liam I love you so much and I love it hear in the city but sometimes I feel like I belong more in the country ... and with him, I mean he is Michelle's father and he has a right to spend time with her just like she should be able to spend time with him, it just I don't know Liam this whole thing of seeing him after 16 years, it could be a bit much and I don't know if that is good for the baby, our baby"

"Well specking of our baby, you need to get some sleep Tess and one more thing by the sounds of it, it really sounded like you both rode off into the sunset together"

"We did, we had a horse and carriage, leaving our wedding, and we kept on ridding together off into the sunset"

With that she got up off the ground and walked back into the bedroom and hoped back into be, while Liam stayed looking at the wedding, and he saw the photo she meant it was like the end of a fairytale.

And that was what it was like for Tess McLeod and nicks Ryan the end of a fairytale life together.


End file.
